p10n Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 First: Affinit Designer is really great - thanks to the Affinity team! (Former-time Corel user, then Inkscape, now switched to Affinity due to CMYK and better color management) My request: I often use Save-As to generate numbered versions of files (as backups, and so that when I discuss them with a client, we can refer to which version we are talking about). In the Save As dialog, it appears that AD defaults to the folder where I last saved anything. This is very tricky when working on files that lie in different folders. To me, the current behaviour is somehow unexpected, and I often accidentially store files in the wrong project's folder. The same happens when exporting, to PDF for instance. I can imagine that people might want to always export all PDFs to a certain folder no matter where the curent file is, so maybe we should also consider this use-case. My suggestion is: 1.) Save As: Default to the folder where the current file lies. 2.) Export (pdf etc, but also for palettes): Default to the folder where I last exported the respective file type when the current document was open. (Maybe its not a good idea to store file paths in documents (like the export paths necessary for 2.). For me, it would be ok if this only works for the last, say, 30 files I worked on, so it could be stored somewhere in the application options storage, not in the document files.) Would this cover all use-cases? Best, Philipp Wood Kit, frindley, ryobg and 11 others 12 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_Kal Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 +1 from me aswell! I felt there was something fishy with the saving location, but I wanted to make sure it is the case before I make a report about it! What you suggest, is indeed the intuitive-expected behavior so you totally nailed it! p10n, criffel and Wood Kit 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristian Dragos Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 +1000! I just bought AD for Windows and the saving/exporting path is pretty silly. It should definitely work like p10n suggested above. Not sure why they didn't made it this way from the get go since it's the most logical way of working. criffel, Wood Kit and p10n 3 Quote Check out my awesome Affinity Creations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raacampbell Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 I agree, the way the save location works is unintuitive and different to all other software I work with. criffel, Wood Kit and p10n 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimoGElhard Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 Like p10n said, it was really great, if Affinity go to: the folder, where the file is saved by clicking on SAVE AS the last export folder, by export with STRG+ALT+SHIFT+S And additionaly the possibility to set different save path for the slices and store it in the affinity files. At this moment, i must navigate through my complete folder structur, when save a file (save or save as) export file export slice and because the behavior with this 'save as' problem i save many files in the wrong location. After that i begin to search the project files, because the path is not shown under recent files and i can't get the path with the 'save as' option. In the Affinity Photo i missed the option to export multiple layers with the document size. When i creat slices from the layers, they will have the layer size. And if i export the background slice, i must export it for every layer individually. Or i must resize every slice to fit the document size. This is a really bad behavior and cost much time. It is a really good software but this is much better at Adobe Photoshop Some other Things: Is it possible to copy effects from one layer to another? Is there an option for layer composition (in german 'Ebenenkomposition' in Photoshop)? Best, Timo Wood Kit, Etienne, p10n and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
criffel Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 I was really disappointed this wasn't fixed in the last update. Seems so obvious as the way it is right now wastes so much time. Wood Kit and p10n 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p10n Posted November 6, 2017 Author Share Posted November 6, 2017 Yes, same for me! Maybe we should ask support about when this will be fixed? Wood Kit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paristo Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Yes, more options for the directories (defaults, as common defaults) are needed. - Save Affinity file to same location as the opened file by default, unless otherwise pointed elsewhere. - Export file to same location as the opened file, unless pointed elsewhere. - Remember different Export and Save As -directories per file opened (file from C: doesn't get offered being saved where file from D: got opened) It would be nice to be able just unpack package full of image files, open to Affinity Photo and save file and get it saved to "Affinity" directory after pointing in first save time. Then get export as well saved to "Export" directory after pointing the first time there. It would speed up the processing multiple files in same directory (detect the directory path is it same as "Session" or is it as "Project". Etienne, Wood Kit and p10n 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p10n Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 Yes, this also sounds very reasonable. I very often need to use the "expose in Finder" menu just to get my working folder so that I can drag it into the file-save dialog. (BTW, most Mac apps show the current folder when you right-click on the icon in the title bar - this would also be a useful thing that Affinity apps are currently lacking). I think we all agree that the current behavior is only useful in a minority of usecases, and it is at least unusual compared to most other apps. Pity, because I really love the Affinity apps for most other respects. frindley and Wood Kit 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Rat Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 I just purchased Affinity Photo as a replacement for Photoshop. This issue is the first one I ran into, and it's VERY frustrating when dealing with deep/intricate folder structures. Does the development team monitor these forums at all? p10n 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggman Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 In Windows if nothing else the default location for saving should be the user's proflle folder not C:\Windows\System32 Wood Kit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnou Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 +1000 also... I often work on several projects in parallel, or complex projects (in terms of file organization).So, several Affinity documents to export, each in a different folder... It would be nice to distinguish (as paristo said) : Save As = Open Affinity Document Folder Export Slices = an export folder, specific to the current document - and memorized from one time to the next Option: to be able to choose that some slices are in specific folders (ex: pdf in one file, png in another, HighDef in one, LowDef in another ... This is probably the most frustrating feature of Affinity (maybe the only one ...)I hope... p10n 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBaloo42 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 This issue has been ignored for a long time. It is ridiculous. This was brought up years ago! Make it an option. It takes several hours--if that, and if not, I would be very concerned with your software design practices--for a developer. PaulEC, Scotter and p10n 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graymare Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 Is there still no way to change Affinity Photo's default Save As location to be more intuitive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guillermo Forte Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Oh!, please Affinity developers is a great mistake that save file be in last save o another file open. We need work in the same location, I was use Affinity since 1 years and lost and time many files find it because doesn't save in a same location. PLEASE RESOLVE IT! p10n 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p10n Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 I cant understand why Serif does not fix this. It is so annoying. You always need to extra-check and search for the current folder. One always needs to have a finder window open just to be able to drop the current folder into stupid Affinity. There is no way to drag it from the window title (as other apps can do), either. There is just the "File --> show in Finder" menu, but the menu item is disabled once any Save dialog is open. Even more stupid. So no easy workaround here, either. Affinity folks, can you PLEEEEAAASSSEEEEE fix this annoying behaviour? Guillermo Forte 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadie Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 I second this and I don't understand why there is not even a reply in this thread from affinity, or is there? we use projects folders and once a file has been saved to a folder the program needs to remember where that is for that file and of course for any save 'this file as' operation. Goes without saying really. Why do I have to find the correct location? The current way means I can have a single one click save to location? Come on... is that so hard to put into the meta of a file? lastOpenedFromLocation = defaultSaveToLocation and not lastKnownSaveToLocation from any other file ... please. ... I mean, its Christmas ... hmmm? which reminds me: Merry Christmas Everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murfee Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 29 minutes ago, roadie said: I second this and I don't understand why there is not even a reply in this thread from affinity, or is there? we use projects folders and once a file has been saved to a folder the program needs to remember where that is for that file and of course for any save 'this file as' operation. Goes without saying really. Why do I have to find the correct location? The current way means I can have a single one click save to location? Come on... is that so hard to put into the meta of a file? lastOpenedFromLocation = defaultSaveToLocation and not lastKnownSaveToLocation from any other file ... please. ... I mean, its Christmas ... hmmm? which reminds me: Merry Christmas Everyone! Hi roadie, the staff rarely comment in the feature requests forum, but they do read it and consider all requests. We all have different workflows, I am a photographer mainly using AP and I prefer the way that the the save as & export works at the moment. I have a folder that contains my original raw images, I then create one for edited versions, I want all of my edited versions to be saved in this folder, currently Photo remembers that folder location. This is a good solution for when I am working in AP. When I am using Publisher I need the file to be saved in the same project folder that it originated from, so the current way it works is annoying in that app. I appreciate the frustration for many users that need the original file location as the save location for their file, particularly when working in Designer or Publisher. Maybe a setting in the preferences panel for each app would be the best answer to keep everybody happy. This could be a choice under save location, as: Always save to original file location or Always save to last save location. If this was implemented users could select which they need for each app and can change the behaviour at any time they need to. Merry Christmas to everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loukash Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 43 minutes ago, Murfee said: users could select which they need for each app and can change the behaviour at any time they need to On a Mac, get Default Folder. Any such problems solved, with any app that you are using whatsoever. Murfee 1 Quote MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2 // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16.6 > Affinity v2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBaloo42 Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 @roadie Serif's behavior is tied to their business model "get them in, then lock the door"; we, the existing customers, are trapped lobsters . On Serif's business model, existing customers have practically no weight into their prioritization process; we are "locked in" already... A good enhancement request, from their standpoint, is a good lobster lure/bait. If an enhancement request is not helping adding (trapping) new customers then it has zero weight on their priority list. Just browse the various topics in this forum, and you'll find more common-sense features, which any other software product have, and which are totally ignored by Serif. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murfee Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 3 minutes ago, loukash said: On a Mac, get Default Folder. Any such problems solved, with any app that you are using whatsoever. Thanks for this, I will give it a try. I still think that it would be a good feature to be built into the Affinity apps. Not everyone wants to buy a 3rd party app for something that could easily be built into the preferences panel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loukash Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 Just now, Murfee said: it would be a good feature to be built into the Affinity apps On Mac, this is actually a system function. Open/Save dialogs are provided by the OS. The OS also keeps track of last places and writes the location into the respective application's preferences file (*.plist). Depending on where you've got your app from, it's either in ~/Library/Preferences/com.seriflabs.affinity[app_name].plist (apps from Serif Store) or ~/Library/Containers/com.seriflabs.affinitydesigner/Data/Library/Preferences/com.seriflabs.affinity[app_name].plist (sandboxed apps from Apple App Store). The standard XML key to look for is "NSNavLastRootDirectory", that's the one provided by the MacOS. For some reason though, Affinity apps also store their own last directories keys, named "com.seriflabs.opensave.panel.startupdir", "com.seriflabs.export.panel.startupdir" and possibly more as needed. I don't which preference key has more priority, but I'd assume "com.seriflabs.opensave.panel.startupdir" overrides "NSNavLastRootDirectory". roadie 1 Quote MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2 // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16.6 > Affinity v2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadie Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 49 minutes ago, loukash said: On Mac, this is actually a system function. Open/Save dialogs are provided by the OS. The OS also keeps track of last places and writes the location into the respective application's preferences file (*.plist). ah, so thats how I got 'spoiled' ok, so they won't change it. I'll get used to it then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larsonmars Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 On 12/24/2019 at 5:13 PM, iBaloo42 said: Serif's behavior is tied to their business model "get them in, then lock the door"; we, the existing customers, are trapped lobsters . On Serif's business model, existing customers have practically no weight into their prioritization process; we are "locked in" already... A good enhancement request, from their standpoint, is a good lobster lure/bait. If an enhancement request is not helping adding (trapping) new customers then it has zero weight on their priority list. Well, it definitely might prevent new customers from joining the wagon. This 'missing feature' and how the company (in this case not) listens to their customers, can prove to be crucial when making a decision or recommendation to go with a product suite or not. Especially, since there seems to be no product-related support besides this forum. By the way, this is not the only thread that deals with this issue. Someone from serif could at least 'acknowledge' this. It is an issue since 2016 and would not be hard to implement... p10n 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanMaffle Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Another vote for this... though doesn't seem likely that it will be implemented, given the lack of response or acknowledgement from the Serif team. Is there a UserVoice site for Affinity? p10n 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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